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Obesity is driven by consumption and consumption drives the US economy. We know that obesity and age are two of the biggest factors in COVID outcomes. We obvio

by 34679 5y ago

Obesity is driven by consumption and consumption drives the US economy. We know that obesity and age are two of the biggest factors in COVID outcomes. We obviously can't make ourselves younger, so I have been genuinely surprised that there hasn't been any push for diet and exercise over the last 20 months. Instead, all we see pushed are pills and shots, sold as working "just like magic", instead of any kind of actual work on the part of each individual. But what president is going to go on TV and tell everyone to consume less when they view the economy as their ticket to reelection?

TacticalCoder 5y ago
> so I have been genuinely surprised that there hasn't been any push for diet and exercise over the last 20 months There's been no official push but there have been individuals whom, upon realizing people were dying due to their lungs clogging up and difficulties breathing, organized into online groups and started exercising a lot. > Instead, all we see pushed are pills ... It appeared very early on that there was a gigantic correlation between low vit-D levels and severe Covid-19 complications. Several scientific studies now confirmed this officially. I don't think it's know (yet?) if Vit-D supplementation works or not (it works to raise vit-D levels, but does it help when you then catch Covid-19?) but I don't find it crazy that people, like me, started taking Vit-D (+ K) supplementation. > ... and shots, ah yup, RNA shots. I was basically forced to get mines too (even if it's not totally mandatory they're pretty much rammed down your troath in the EU). The worldwide epidemiological study as to what the consequences of this new kind of vaccine are is ongoing... Stay tuned ; )
jgwil2 5y ago
What exactly would this push look like? A massive ad campaign encouraging people to diet and exercise? Do you really think that would make a difference? Most overweight people already want to be skinnier - the fact is that it is extremely difficult to lose weight and keep it off. The focus has been on vaccination precisely because it is both effective and easily implemented.
- rbanffy 5y ago
  > What exactly would this push look like? One way to start it would be in-school cantinas to only offer healthy food, do so for free for every student, and to educate students from the start to be healthy eaters. Remember: we shamed McDonalds into offering salads. It’ll not solve all cases, but will reduce the health issue, save countless lives and allow us to focus on the next problem, whatever it is.
paconbork 5y ago
I don't think categorizing obesity as important for economic activity is accurate. There's many more angles to promoting a healthy lifestyle than just consuming less. For example: eating healthier (more expensive*), buying a gym membership / joining a sports club, hiring a personal trainer / dietitian, purchasing exercise equipment, etc *Yes, you can eat cheap and healthy, but this often comes at a price of convenience. Healthy convenient snacks tend to be more expensive. You can also charge more for leaner/free-range/grass-fed meats, healthier cooking oils like extra virgin olive oil, etc
jxidjhdhdhdhfhf 5y ago
Researchers and doctors don't have a simple method to make people lose weight. They can make recommendations for diet and exercise but at the end of the day, most people won't follow them. And forcing millions to stick to a diet and exercise program would require extreme, authoritarian logistics, much more so than requiring vaccines for employees. Coordinating millions of people to get a shot in the arm is way simpler.

by 34679 5y ago

TacticalCoder 5y ago

> so I have been genuinely surprised that there hasn't been any push for diet and exercise over the last 20 months There's been no official push but there have been individuals whom, upon realizing people were dying due to their lungs clogging up and difficulties breathing, organized into online groups and started exercising a lot. > Instead, all we see pushed are pills ... It appeared very early on that there was a gigantic correlation between low vit-D levels and severe Covid-19 complications. Several scientific studies now confirmed this officially. I don't think it's know (yet?) if Vit-D supplementation works or not (it works to raise vit-D levels, but does it help when you then catch Covid-19?) but I don't find it crazy that people, like me, started taking Vit-D (+ K) supplementation. > ... and shots, ah yup, RNA shots. I was basically forced to get mines too (even if it's not totally mandatory they're pretty much rammed down your troath in the EU). The worldwide epidemiological study as to what the consequences of this new kind of vaccine are is ongoing... Stay tuned ; )

jgwil2 5y ago

What exactly would this push look like? A massive ad campaign encouraging people to diet and exercise? Do you really think that would make a difference? Most overweight people already want to be skinnier - the fact is that it is extremely difficult to lose weight and keep it off. The focus has been on vaccination precisely because it is both effective and easily implemented.

rbanffy 5y ago
> What exactly would this push look like? One way to start it would be in-school cantinas to only offer healthy food, do so for free for every student, and to educate students from the start to be healthy eaters. Remember: we shamed McDonalds into offering salads. It’ll not solve all cases, but will reduce the health issue, save countless lives and allow us to focus on the next problem, whatever it is.

paconbork 5y ago

I don't think categorizing obesity as important for economic activity is accurate. There's many more angles to promoting a healthy lifestyle than just consuming less. For example: eating healthier (more expensive*), buying a gym membership / joining a sports club, hiring a personal trainer / dietitian, purchasing exercise equipment, etc *Yes, you can eat cheap and healthy, but this often comes at a price of convenience. Healthy convenient snacks tend to be more expensive. You can also charge more for leaner/free-range/grass-fed meats, healthier cooking oils like extra virgin olive oil, etc

jxidjhdhdhdhfhf 5y ago

Researchers and doctors don't have a simple method to make people lose weight. They can make recommendations for diet and exercise but at the end of the day, most people won't follow them. And forcing millions to stick to a diet and exercise program would require extreme, authoritarian logistics, much more so than requiring vaccines for employees. Coordinating millions of people to get a shot in the arm is way simpler.